2) Christ as the manna is also the food of His people. The manna differs from the roast lamb, in that it was confined to the wilderness. It was not until Israel had been brought through the Red Sea that the manna was given (see Ex. 16); and it "ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna anymore; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." Josh. 5:1212And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. (Joshua 5:12). It was, therefore, the wilderness food of Israel; and in like manner Christ, as the manna, is the wilderness food for the believer. But a distinction has to be made. Inasmuch as the history of Israel, passing through the desert, crossing the Jordan, and occupying the land, is typical, they could only be in one place at a time. The believer is at the same moment in the wilderness and in the heavenlies. For service, for the expression of Christ down here, viewed as a pilgrim, waiting for the return of the Lord, he is in the desert; his position before God, as united to a glorified Christ. is ever in the heavenly places—whether he occupies it, is another question. Hence, supposing him to know his place, he needs the manna and the old corn at the same time. In other words, he needs to feed upon Christ in both aspects. He is never in Egypt, whatever his experiences; for that would be to deny the truth of his deliverance through the death and resurrection of Christ. A quickened soul may be in Egypt, but a believer—meaning by this term one who has been brought into the true Christian place by the indwelling Spirit—has done forever with Egypt, for the world has become to him a moral wilderness; and it is as being in the wilderness that he feeds upon Christ as the manna.
What then is the manna for the believer? It is Christ in incarnation—a humbled Christ. "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." John 6:32, 3332Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. (John 6:32‑33). "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:49-5149Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:49‑51). Christ is thus the manna in all that He was in the flesh—in the expression of what He was both as the revealer of the Father and as the perfect Man. His grace, compassion, tenderness, and love—His meekness a n d lowliness of heart-His patience, forbearance, and long-suffering—His example-all these things are found in the manna which God has given to us for food during our sojourn in the wilderness.
He is continually presented to us in the manna character in those epistles which especially deal with the desert path of the saint. "Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Heb. 12:1-31Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:1‑3). That is, we are exhorted to feed upon Christ as the manna to sustain us amid the trials, difficulties, and persecutions incident to the desert. In like manner Peter, who writes particularly "to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus," etc., continually leads us to Christ in this aspect. "What glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps:..." 1 Peter 1:1; 2:20241Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1) (see also chap. 3:17, 18). The Apostle Paul too feeds the saints with manna. For example, though it contains more, we have it in Phil. 2:5-95Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (Philippians 2:5‑9)—manna, we might say, of the most precious character. "Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." But it is in the gospels that the manna lies gleaming round us on every side, and where it is to be gathered for use as the needs of each day may require. For there it is that we have the unfoldings of the wondrous life—the life of Him who was the perfect Man, and, at the same time, God manifest in flesh.
Two remarks, however, may be made as to the collecting and use of the manna. The Israelites went out of the camp to gather at a certain rate every day (Exod. 16:44Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. (Exodus 16:4)). We must go down for the same purpose. That is, unless we know our place in the heavenlies, and in truth, what it is to feed upon the old corn of the land, we shall scarcely be able to feed upon the manna. This is remarkably brought in in the Apostle Paul's ministry; he began with Christ in glory. So must it be with us. When we know our union with a glorified Christ, our place in Him before God, we shall feast with intensified delight upon Christ as the manna. Historically, the manna came before the old corn, but the order should be reversed for the believer—for the simple reason that God has so reversed it in the presentation of Christ to our souls. We preach, as Paul did, a Christ in glory; and when He is thus apprehended, then, and not until then, we can find in a humbled Christ our food while in the wilderness. Hence the great loss and consequent weakness of those who are never permitted to hear of Christ in glory—whose only thought of Him is as once dwelling down here in the flesh, when He was made in the likeness of man.
The second remark is the very obvious and often repeated one, that the manna cannot be stored for use. Everyone must gather it every day according to his eating (Exod. 16:1616This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. (Exodus 16:16)); and if he gather more -unless it be for "the sabbath"—it will surely become corrupt. No, beloved friends, there must be the constant feeding upon Christ, day by day and hour by hour; and we can never receive more than our need for the moment requires. Thereby we are kept in continual dependence, and our eyes are ever directed to Christ. "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me,.. shall live by Me." John 6:5757As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:57).
3) There remains to be considered Christ as the old corn of the land. In the passage already referred to (Josh. 5:10-1210And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. 11And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. (Joshua 5:10‑12)), we have the Passover, the manna, and the old corn mentioned together; and this fact makes the interpretation the more manifest. If therefore the manna is Christ in incarnation, the old corn, inasmuch as the land typifies the heavenly places, of necessity points to Christ in glory. And we shall find that He is so presented to us in the epistles as the sustenance and strength of our souls, and so presented as our proper nourishment, even though believers may be regarded in the epistle, not, as in the Ephesians, as seated in the heavenlies in Christ, but as in Colossians and Philippians (and, indeed, in 2 Corinthians), as down here upon the earth; for though still down here, they are united to Him where He is.
Take Colossians first. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection [have your mind] on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Chap. 3:1-3. Here, it is true, we have "those things which are above"; but it is evident that by this term is meant the whole sphere of blessing of which Christ in glory is the center—the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in fact, into the possession of which we are brought, and all of which are summed up in Christ. These therefore are "the old corn of the land," "the fruit of the land of Canaan," the proper food and sustenance for those who have died, and are risen with Christ.
In Philippians 3 we have the same truth brought before us. For what have we there but a glorified Christ as filling the vision of the Apostle's soul, and as the satisfying portion of his heart? Thus if we have the manna in chapter 2, we most surely have the old corn of the land in chapter 3. One more instance may be cited—2 Cor. 3:1818But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18): "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Hence too the value of the constant expectation of Christ. It attracts us to the Person of the glorified Christ, engages our hearts with Him, and fills our souls with longing desires for that time when we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:22Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)).
All these passages, and many more of a kindred character, direct us to Christ in glory as the old corn of the land; but this is food with which we cannot dispense; no other will so nourish or impart such strength to the saint. It is heavenly food for heavenly people, and it is only when we are feeding upon it that we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might—that we can make war with the enemy for the possession (the occupation) of our inheritance—that we are made willing to undergo anything and everything—fellowship with the sufferings of Christ, being made conformable unto His death, if in any way we may arrive at the resurrection from among the dead (Phil. 3), when we shall be glorified together with Him who has been the strength and sustenance of our souls.
It should be remarked too that there is no power to express Christ in our walk down here excepting as we are occupied with Him in glory. He should thus be, in this character, ever before us; and He will be when, taught of the Spirit, we can say to Him, All our springs, all the sources of joy, are in Thee. And He Himself desires this; for He said to His disciples, when speaking of the coming Spirit of truth; "He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you." John 16:14, 1514He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. 15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. (John 16:14‑15).
Occupation with Christ is, therefore, the Alpha and the Omega of the Christian life; occupation with His death- that death which laid the foundation not only of our own redemption and deliverance, but also of the reconciliation of all things—occupation with Him in incarnation, when, though He were the Son, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, when, as the obedient and dependent Man, He found His meat in doing the Father's will and in finishing. His work and thus glorified God in every detail of that wondrous life; and, above all, occupation with Him in the glory, as the glorified Man, the center of all God's counsels, and the object of all His delight, yea, the satisfying portion of His heart. It is thus by occupation with, feeding upon, contemplating Christ, that we are brought in the power of the Spirit into fellowship with God—enabled to enter into His own thoughts concerning, and even to share His own affections for, that blessed One who is now seated at His own right hand. Surely here then is the source of all growth, strength, and blessing!
Blessed Lord Jesus! keep Thyself so constantly before our souls, and so unfold Thyself in all Thy grace and beauty to our hearts, that, drawing out our affections, we may desire to have nothing, to see nothing, and to know nothing but Thyself; for in Thee dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we are complete in Thee (Col. 2:9, 109For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Colossians 2:9‑10)).